


It's Kinda Cold In Here

by Gracerr5



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, One Shot, because why not, i had the idea to do a story with cold root and a warm shaw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-29 22:31:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12094851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gracerr5/pseuds/Gracerr5
Summary: Shaw had never particularly felt that she was warmer than usual. Maybe it went with the anger and the constant action with missions. But it never bothered her. That is, until she met Root.





	It's Kinda Cold In Here

"Who's our new number, Finch?" Shaw asks, looking at the picture of the new number. He's a relatively good looking guy with gelled up dirty blonde hair, an expensive looking suit, and a smirk that manages to annoy Shaw already.

"Chad Hartwick," Finch states, "a successful businessman who founded HartWear, clothes to make your girlfriend swoon."

"Hm maybe you should buy a new shirt from there, Sameen," a teasing voice sounds from above Shaw.

Shaw feels a cold hand brush lightly against her bare arm. A shiver shoots up her spine and she immediately looks up. Root stands above her, a small smile in place, obviously pleased with the reaction. Shaw looks at her arm and notices that not only is Root's arm still in place but dozens of goose bumps have now appeared. She scowls and shrugs Root's hand off. She hears a small laugh but doesn't even give her a glance. Finch clears his throat, looking warily between the two of them. Honestly, Shaw doesn't blame him. Last time Root tried this she ended up pinned to the floor... taking some of Finch's technology with her. Which was _clearly_ not her fault because Root deserved it. Logic. Duh.

"Getting back on topic, Chad has several dating accounts including one on Tinder, OKCupid, Bumble, and even one on ChristianMingle. He takes girls out once or twice but he never seems to see them for much longer than that. Our goal is to change that when he matches with Vanessa Maslow," Finch informs.

"Oh don't worry, I can keep his interes-" Shaw begins but she's cut off by Root.

"Actually sweetie, you'll be on the sidelines this time. Turns out our ladies man only has a thing for girls 5'5" or taller."

"That's bullshit!" Shaw exclaims angrily. She obviously doesn't care about going out with this man but she should not be excluded because of her height. Especially when she could probably bench press double his weight.

"Don't worry Sam, I said _he_ didn't want a girl under 5'5". I happen to prefer girls under that height. More specifically people who are 5'3". Know anybody who fits that description?" Root asks, playing dumb. Shaw rolls her eyes and then glares at Root who has now put her ice blocks that she calls hands on Shaw's shoulders.

"Root, Jesus, put on a fucking coat. And get your goddamn icicles off of me," Shaw groans. She's also trying to ignore the part of her that wants to lean into Root's touch. Because _possibly_ she was feeling a little overheated. And _possibly_ Root's hands are helping to cool her down.

Root doesn't remove her hands. And Shaw doesn't ask again. But _maybe_ she leans back slightly to expose more of her neck to the contact. Maybe.

**A few hours later,**

"Almost ready Root?" Shaw asks over the comms.

"I'm almost ready. Just like I told you a minute ago," Root says and Shaw swears she can hear the smile on her lips.

"You've been in there for so long I was making sure you didn't fall asleep or die or anything," Shaw answers defensively.

"I've been here for 34 minutes and 57 seconds. Well, 58 seconds now. However, I just finished so you can stop worrying about me," Root responds.

Root steps out of the bathroom. She's wearing a flowy red dress with a lace bodice and a sheer cover going into a singular strap, and there'a a slit running up the side of the dress that exposes her thigh.

Shaw's jaw doesn't drop but she has to lock her jaw and bite her lip to keep it that way.

Root notices Shaw's struggle to keep her eyes from lingering on any body part too long and she beams. The machine had told her that the dress would allow her to succeed tonight and only now does she sense a double meaning in those words. Unintentional or not, the machine appears to be a bigger Root and Shaw shipper than Root herself. Shaw composes herself before speaking.

"Root, the idea was to get Chad interested on the first date. Not propose," Shaw says, sounding almost bitter. Root grins at the thought that she might have finally gotten Shaw to lose her cool.

"Why Sameen, was that a compliment?" she taunts. She doesn't want to cross the line too much because she knows if Shaw were to lunge at her the dress would probably be caught in the crossfire. And she's enjoying this way too much.

"...No. Observation," Shaw spits out.

"I might have put it on for Hartwick but I'll take it off for someone else..." Root chuckles with a wink. She turns away and walks towards Finch while Shaw seethes in the corner.

"Erm... yes. You look very nice Miss. Groves. I'm sure Mr. Hartwick will find Miss. Maslow irresistible," Finch says, squirming uncomfortably. Shaw stares at them from the corner before sighing and walking closer to them. She stops, standing next to Finch, letting him come in between her and Root. Root clearly sees the intention but says nothing.

"So to recap, Miss. Groves, you have to go with whatever Mr. Hartwick does. I will be on the comms all night to help you engage, not to mention Reese will be there to translate the more... masculine parts of the conversation," Harold confirms for at least the third time. Shaw doesn't understand why he's so nervous. Root does. Earlier in the day he took her aside and asked:

"Are you sure Miss. Shaw is comfortable with this? It's still not too late to get Zoe. We cannot afford for Shaw to storm in and unfairly injure the number."

To this, Root had just simply replied, "She'll deal with it. But it's sweet of you to think of her."

So now Harold is fidgeting with stacks of papers about Chad and randomly stating facts about him into the comms. Reese is standing behind him, chuckling at his frazzled friend. And Shaw is sitting next to Finch, with a front row view of the restaurant security feeds they tapped into and her comm volume turned all the way up. For the mission, of course.

Root gets out of the car and hands the keys over to the valet. Chad's expensive style definitely shines through in his date ideas, as he picked one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. She glides over to where Chad is seated, blonde hair gelled to perfection and blue eyes twinkling grandly. To any other girl, he would probably look like Prince Charming. To Root, he's boring. Where are the dark brown eyes that hide murderous rage? Where are the muscles that are slightly too big for the slim frame?

"Hi, I'm Chad," he greets, smooth voice sliding over the words in a perfect way, "do you have a name or can I just call you mine?" Root has the perfect comeback in mind but she hears Finch hiss "giggle" into her ear so that's just what she does.

"I'm Vannessa, but it can be yours if you'd like," she plays along. Root cringes on the inside at this line. Shaw cringes on the outside at this line.

"So Vanessa, what do you do for a living?" he asks, feigning interest.

"Oh, I just work for a small advertising company, nothing too special," Root answers. Root knows that this guy is going to take way more pleasure in talking about himself than hearing about her so she keeps her answers short.

"Oh cool. I'm actually the founder of this pretty big organization called HartWear, you've probably heard of it. But by looking at your dress, I'm guessing you've never been in the same store as my line," he laughs, apparently seeing nothing wrong with the statement. Root struggles to keep her smile plastered on her face. Shaw rolls her eyes and gets up from her chair. That dress is as damn near close to perfection as you can get (especially with Root in it) so Shaw instantly discredits anything else he could say.

"Oh um... haha," Root responds flatly.

"Lighten up sweetie, I'm kidding," he laughs. Shaw feels anger roll through her entire body. That is Root's nickname for her. Not Brad Tartmick's way to half-ass apologize for insulting Vanessa. She grabs a knife and flicks it angrily at a nearby wall. She pulls it out and aims again, this time with more force. She does this three more times before she hears something over the comm that makes her head shoot up.

"You're freezing!" he exclaims. Shaw speed walks over to the monitor and sees that he's slid his hand on top of her hand.

No. No. NO. That is _Shaw's_ line. That is NOT a casual line he can throw out as an excuse to touch Root. That is NOT an observation that he can just fling out to make conversation speed along. That is a carefully crafted line to be used when your body is reacting to Root's touch in a way your mind doesn't want it to. It's a line thought up after several sleepless nights staring at the back of a familiar brunette's body resting on your couch. It's a line to use when Finch gives you a weird look as Root is practically on your lap. That line is not for Fuckboy McAsshole to use. That line is sacred.

"You ok there, Shaw?" Reese asks cautiously. Shaw is ripped out of her rant but the anger still boils in her blood.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" she snaps, stalking towards him. Finch jumps in to try to save his friend.

"Well you were slightly... growling a few seconds ago," Finch points out. Finch and Reese stare at her intently while Shaw glares back at them, daring them to say anything more about the situation.

No one is looking at the monitor, but if they did they would see Root completely tuning out Chad. Instead, she's smiling to herself focusing on the comm discussion. Because she's had it on the whole time. She heard Shaw's growling and defensive retorts. And she wishes this stupid mission could be over so she could go back to Shaw's place tease Sameen briefly before inevitably showing her just how little Chad means to her.

"...a fine woman like yourself should never be cold on a date. Take my jacket," Chad smiles. Shaw freezes and whips her head back towards the monitor. Reese takes a step towards her, preparing himself to restrain her if necessary. He's noticed that Shaw has become more protective of the team which is great when they're in trouble. However, her intense need to protect Root is a bit troublesome at times.

"Oh no it's really fine, I wouldn't want you to be cold," Root deflects.

"Miss. Groves, while perhaps other partners may appreciate your coyness, I urge you to take Chad's jacket. It could be very useful, especially if you can somehow slip a tracker on it," Finch suggests.

"Oh come on Vanessa, I know you want to," he flirts. Root grimaces on the inside but allows the traitorous words to fall out of her mouth.

"Only if you put it on," she agrees. Shaw hears those words said in a voice that she has only heard Root use for her. She feels disgusted. She feels like she needs to take a shower. Or shoot something. Or both. She also feels betrayed by her own body that she's getting so affected by this.

Chad smirks at his success and slides off his light gray sports coat, leaving him in just a long sleeved blue collared shirt. On the pocket of the coat is a silver H in a light pink heart, which is the HartWear logo. Root lifts her arms out so that he can put it on. It feels slightly moist and kind of uncomfortable. Root slyly takes a small tracker from her purse and attaches it to the base of the coat. The coat wafts the smell of a terrible sprayed on cologne making her feel nauseous. But Root's a good actor and maintains a smile through this. However, that means all Shaw can see is Root smiling and wearing his jacket happily.

"I'm gonna... go for a walk or something," she says as her excuse. Reese gives one short nod. Shaw walks away, tapping her comm off so she doesn't have to hear the slimeball come on to Root anymore.

**Many minutes of forced laugh** **ter** **and mildly misogynistic jokes later,**

"Vanessa, how about we get out of here," Chad suggests confidently like he knows she's going to say yes. It pains Root that she really does have to say yes.

"Where are we going?" she replies seductively. She's trying her best to act like she likes him but even she isn't that good of an actor.

"Well," he begins, putting his hand on her thigh and slowly creeping it up, "I was thinking we could get a cab and we could be at my place in a couple of minutes." She puts her hand on his hand, effectively stopping it.

"I can't be _that_ easy, I've got to at least make you work for it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be any fun," she stalls. She hopes her alluring act is working because she's getting quite tired of having to shut him down.

"Sure, let's go for a walk instead. I've been dying to see those long legs in action," he winks. Root forces yet another smile and pushes herself out of her chair.

"Let me just go to the bathroom to freshen up," she lies.

Meanwhile, Shaw is still seething on the walk home. She realized that if she had to be cooped up on the subway to get home, chances were some poor guy who sneezed too loudly would've probably gotten shot. And maybe not in the kneecap. So she's walking when she gets a text from Finch.

Finch: Turn on your comm.

Shaw sighs but taps it on.

"Sameen, good you're here," Root answers almost immediately. She sounds extremely relieved.

"What happened, is the mission over?" Shaw asks, hoping that the answer is yes.

"Not exactly," Finch responds, "after stumbling upon some incredibly well-hidden documents, all evidence seems to point to Mr. Hartwick being our perpetrator. It appears the reason he never seems to go on more than two dates is simply that they're no longer alive." Shaw freezes.

"Root?" she calls out.

"Yes?"

"Are you still with him?" she asks.

"Unfortunately yes, we have to stay around long enough to get hard evidence of his crimes. He asked me to go on a walk with him and that's where you come in. Becuase you're already on the streets, we need you as back up. There's no guarantee that Harold will be able to track me wherever we go. It should take you 20 minutes to get from your current location to the restaurant. I can stall him for a few minutes and then you'll just have to catch up from there."

"Twenty minutes? I'll be there in ten," Shaw says before scouting around for the fastest nearby car. She gets lucky and hops into a red Ferrari 458 Spider that happens to be parked in front of a local business. It's a good thing that this neighborhood is rich. After some semi illegal tampering, she hears the car roar to life.

"Let's see how fast this baby can go," she mutters to herself.

After running red lights and walk symbols, she arrives at the restaurant in ten minutes as promised. She's early enough that she arrives in time to see Chad open the door for Root, with a big smile on his face as if he just did something really big and charitable. Shaw leaves the gorgeous red Ferrari with the valet. She'll let the owner find it there.

She trails Root and Chad, allowing several people to come in front of her but never losing sight of Root.

"Let's go over here, this path looks fun," Chad says casually. Obviously knowing that he's a killer, Shaw finds that line to be creepy and a huge red flag. But she can see how a girl desperate for love might find that line romantic.

"Oh ok, although it's k-kind of dark, I might get scared," Root plays the damsel in distress, as it's clear that's what Chad wants to hear. Shaw would laugh if she wasn't so pissed at Chad. He and Root slip into the dark alleyway and a few seconds later Shaw follows. Thankfully her entire wardrobe is black so she blends into the darkness.

"I bet you're glad you have my jacket now," Chad jokes. Root nods. The jacket is still really itchy and bulky. Shaw is surprised that Root still manages to pull off such a tacky item of clothing.

"Do you know where we are? It's kind of far off the path," Root pretends to ask nervously.

"Somewhere far enough for nobody to hear you scream," he grins madly.

"What?" Root asks, pretending to be shocked. Shaw pulls out her gun, ready to shoot.

"Ya know, you were nice at first. I was gonna keep you around. But then, I saw you with my jacket. You didn't like it. I couldn't have that. So I decided that I'm going to get a good night kiss and unfortunately afterward I'll have to shoot you." Chad says calmly. Shaw's grasp tightens on her gun.

As Chad starts to lean in towards her, Root pulls out her taser and applies it to his neck. As she does this she hears two shots being fired and Chad collapses. Apparently getting tased at the same time as being shot in the kneecaps does not go over well with the rest of the body.

"My knight in shining armor," Root almost purrs, taking Chad's jacket off and throwing it unceremoniously on top of him. It's a pretty frigid night and she hates the fact that the jacket was actually keeping her warm.

"Yeah yeah, just doing the job," Shaw grumbles. This night has been emotionally and physically draining and she's just ready to eat, drink, and sleep. Root slings an arm over Sameen's shoulder and Shaw can literally feel the heat draining away from her body.

"Root! How many times have I told you-" Shaw whips around to lecture Root, but observes that Root's teeth are chattering. Something in Shaw's stomach doesn't like that fact.

"Here," she grunts, taking off her coat and waving it towards Root. Root's smile stretches.

"For me?" she asks dramatically. She gingerly grabs the jacket and wraps it around her. It smells like Shaw. Not like enough Axe body spray to kill a squad of teenage boys, but like warmth and comfort. It reminds Root of all the happy nights she spent on Shaw's couch, knowing Shaw was watching her but never mentioning it. She pulls the coat closer to her.

Shaw watches Root snuggle into her jacket and an immense amount of pleasure erupts through her body just from watching this scene. Because this is not at all how Root interacted with Killer Romeo's stupid jacket. They walk back to where the rest of Team Machine is holed up. Root hands Finch a recording she took of Chad's activities while Shaw gives Reese a silent apology with her eyes. They leave together. Tthey don't discuss it. They just leave side by side because it feels natural.

They board the subway that will take them to Shaw's apartment. In an unbelievable bit of luck, there are only five other people in the car. Shaw takes a seat and Root takes the one to her left.

Root, in a rather drowsy stupor, senses the warmth next to her head and feels her neck being pulled closer. She ends up resting her head on Sameen's shoulder, nuzzled comfortably with her legs on the seat to the left of her.

Shaw's entire body immediately tenses the instant Root's head makes contact with her. She fights the instinct to pull away simply because of how peaceful Root looks. Shaw's body is buzzing with how hyper aware she is of her every movement. Any slight fidget could accidentally nudge Root awake. Every breath lifts her shoulders up an inconsequential amount, taking Root's head with them. If she focuses too hard on the situation she begins to breathe a little faster and feels unable to sit still. So she sits upright, not moving, barely even breathing. Her fist clenches tightly, her knuckles turn white and her palm turns red with the small cuts that well up with blood where her nails dig in. This is too much for her. This is the first time in a long time she's stopped to think about her personality disorder negatively impacting her life. With all the killing and loss in her life, she's only ever seen it as an advantage on her competition. If someone died she would be able to move on, it was the best way for her to survive. But with Root in her life, she knows she wants Root. But she also knows she might not be able to be the one Root wants. She just wasn't built for feeling talks and PDA. She's so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she doesn't even notice Root staring at her.

"Sam. Stop overthinking it. I can move if you'd like," Root calls out, a slightly amused look on her face. She lifts her head from Shaw's shoulder.

"How did you kno-"

"Your breathing became irregular, you're rigid as a board, and your heart is beating faster than a jackhammer on steroids," Root answers, analyzing Shaw's body language.

"Maybe... baby steps?" Shaw asks, not wanting to alienate the woman.

"I'm fine with that, sweetie," Root replies as if this should be common knowledge. Huh, Shaw thinks. Maybe she overestimated Root's desire for physical intimacy. Root pauses for a second before sliding her hand down Shaw's forearm, until she reaches Shaw's still clenched fist. She rests her hand on the knuckles, just laying it there without asking for more. Shaw hesitates but opens her hand, letting Root's fingers fall easily in between hers.This feels more comfortable and Shaw lets her fingers wrap around Root's hand until their hands are completely intertwined.

"Root?" Shaw asks after a moment of silence.

"Yes, Sameen?" Root sighs contentedly.

"You're still really fucking cold," Shaw deadpans. Root laughs.

"I guess I'm just counting on you to warm me up," Root teases. They share a look and a soft smile spreads on both of their faces. The subway screeches to a halt and the doors lunge open. Shaw and Root release hands but walk out together, occasionally brushing arms. They reach Shaw's apartment in no time, casual banter flowing easily between the two of them. Shaw unlocks the door and the familiarity of her apartment is comforting after the hectic day.

She sees her fridge, stocked with only the best beer and the best weapons. Her couch, with a permanent dent about the approximate size of a tall brunette hacker. Root is heading over to the couch and is about to sit down when Shaw interrupts her.

"Take your clothes off," Shaw says abruptly. Root, who had just taken a sip of an already opened bottle of beer on the coffee table, chokes mid swallow.

"W-w-what?" Root splutters. She begins coughing to the point where her face turns bright red.

"Well, your natural body heat seems to be about as hot as Fusco in a bathing suit. So, if you're enlisting me to help you warm up, we're doing this properly. The most effective method to warm someone up is bare skin to bare skin. I'm just using pure logic. It's for warmth purposes," Shaw responds simply, as if she's just a good civilian trying to be helpful..

"For warmth?" Root asks with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"For warmth," Shaw states firmly, walking over to where Root is standing. They stand inches from the others face in a staring contest, daring one another to make the first move. It's Root that does, leaning in to capture Sameen's lips. Shaw smiles and pulls back to lightly tug at Root's dress.

"What did I say about _that_ ," she teases. Root grins.

"I don't remember. Maybe you should show me."

**Two hours, six zip ties, five "whoops sorry Root, you're bleeding again," four "it's fine Shaw just don't bite there anymore," and one shredded comforter later,**

Root and Shaw collapse on the bed, sweaty and high off of the sexual energy. Root glances over at Shaw who's already closing her eyes.

"I'll go to the couch, see you in the morning Sweetie," Root says sweetly but only begrudgingly gets off the bed.

"For a genius, you're really stupid," Shaw murmurs through the pillow that she's lying face down on.

"Oh? How so?" Root asks, preparing to be insulted.

"When a woman lets you in her bed, you stay in her bed. _Especially_ when that woman just exhibited some of her best skills for two hours."

Root smiled and began to get under the covers.

"There's only one requirement," Shaw says, still not looking up.

"Put on some socks. I will not have Frosty the Snowman sleeping in my bed," Shaw grumbles.

"What does that make you? Heat Miser?" Root teases. Shaw snorts.

"Who in the hell is that?" she retorts before closing her eyes. Root leans over and looks at the sleeping woman. She smiles and slides in next to her, tangling her socked feet with Sameen's bare ones. She feels as if she has her own personal heater. She closes her eyes, but before she falls asleep she grins and mutters to herself, "Heat Miser indeed."

**The next morning (this is the end of this long ass one shot, I promise),**

Shaw wakes up to feel a sort of heat emanating from behind her. She pauses to think, did she sleep with a random person last night? No, that can't be right. She hasn't slept with anyone but Root for the past few months. Just out of... convenience and all that. So if she's sleeping with Root, then why doesn't it feel like a popsicle is hogging half of the bed next to her? The body behind her is definitely average human body temperature. She whips around and lunges, straddling the person. She reaches for the person's neck but their hand shoots out to grab her wrist. Shaw looks down to see the mop of brown waves, pale smooth skin, and big brown eyes groggily starting to open. She also begins to recognize other familiarities like the faint smell of apples that seems to follow the hacker. So it _is_ Root. Whoops.

"Sameen. As much as I love any chance I can get to have you on top of me, six o'clock in the morning before I've had coffee is not a time you want to interact with me," Root groans. Sameen remembers that Root is not a morning person unless she's had coffee or a mission. The perky psycho part of her apparently only comes out around cup two or the second round of gunfire.

"My mistake," Shaw says, collapsing off of Root and back on to the bed, "It's just, you were warm for once. Almost didn't recognize you."

"Well, that's your fault, Sam. The first law of thermodynamics, also known as Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Therefore my new found heat had to come from a source. And that source would be you," Root rambles, sounding like a textbook for a class Shaw probably never studied for. However, if all textbooks looked and sounded like Root, she would've studied eight nights a week. Yes. Eight.

"Root, keep speaking in nerd and I might end up back on top of you," Shaw threatened playfully.

"Well let me get my coffee and we'll test that theory after," Root chirps, sounding perkier by the minute. She gets out of bed and throws on an oversize t shirt that happens to be in a drawer that coincidentally just happens to have most of Root's stuff. Every time Shaw found a piece of clothing on the ground that belonged to Root that was leftover from a previous night, she washed it (she's a sociopath not an animal) and put it in that drawer. So now most of Root's stuff was in that drawer. Shaw throws on a shirt and a faded pair of shorts. She feels a slight shiver. Maybe Root's nerd crap was accurate after all. She looks through her drawers but just can't find a jacket. Of course she was _actually_ looking and not just pretending to look so she could use that as an excuse to put on Root's jacket because that's ridiculous and pathetic and not something Sameen Shaw would ever do. Buuuuuuuut since there were no jackets and Sameen was still cold, Shaw opens up Root's drawer and pulls out a leather jacket. She slips it on and walks out to the kitchen, ready to scarf down some pancakes. If this morning goes at all the way she hopes it will, she'll need the carbs to keep her energy up.


End file.
